Updates

If I could find where I put my blasted camera I would post some rather adorable pictures, but alas, I have misplaced the thing. Oh well. Thought I'd update ya'll anyway.

First, Brayden is 9 months, 23 pounds and 28 inches long. He has completely grown out of 9 month clothes and just about outgrown 12 month clothes. He grows so quickly that he wears everything only a few times before it starts getting tight. He's crawling EVERYWHERE and getting into EVERYTHING! It's a lot harder to "baby proof" with a 6 year old and 4 year old around. My kitchen floor is often covered in crayons, kitchen towels, and anything else that is at a level or in a drawer that Bray can reach. He claps his hands to say "yeah", shakes his head to say "no", waves hello and goodbye, and clicks his tongue. He does these things freely for us but gets a bit shy for others when it comes to his "tricks". He is very good with babysitters though. He goes to sleep at 8 pm and sleeps through the night (all the way to 7:30 in the morning). He's always smiling, even when he's sick, and is SO cuddly- especially with me and Mike.

Anna is almost done with her first year of pre-school! She loves math and is reading and spelling words. She is very interested in the Solar System right now and can tell you how many planets there are and what the sun does. She can even tell you that Pluto used to be a planet but isn't one now. She loves gymnastics and dance and is still very social. She seems older than she is but looks like a younger child because she is still so small. The friends she has that are her age pass clothes down to her. She loves to draw, do Playdoh, be outside, watch cartoons (ugh), play with her baby and kitty, and she is very "in tune" (if you will) with spiritual things. She loves God and Jesus and her family.

Tyson is nearly done with Kindergarten. He has done so well this year in school. He reads very well and is currently near the top of 1st grade levels. He loves math and just soars through every new concept. He has some really good friends at school that he gets to play with every Tuesday and Thursday. This is the first year that he's had boys for friends instead of just girls. He loves Star Wars, so he'll play with anyone who wants to pretend to be a character from those movies. He loves video and computer games and would play them all the time if his mom and dad weren't so mean. We guard those closely. He loves his cousin Alex and waits with anticipation until they can play again.

I just finished SUPAF and it went well. It feels strange not having some deadline pressing or someone to call. It's kind of nice. That and they just paid me yesterday! Not that the money is going to anything fun- like a trip or something- but is is helping us get the things we've had to put off taken care of and the condo paid for. Other then that, I'm working teaching band at Ty's school. I am still in the RS presidency and that is really hard right now. Our ward is suffering from job losses among other really tough things, so we are working hard to take care of people. I am pretty much gone all day on Tuesdays between running kids places, teaching, and then my calling. Other than that, I take care of my squishy baby, my princess, and my little man, and sometimes I get to see Mike, too.

Mike is busy. He works at both of his schools and does all of the extra stuff. He's gone at least two nights a week with either a concert of some kind or a competition. He has two callings at church and 3 other special assignments. He is so good at what he does that everyone knows they can count on him. He still is a huge fan of Dr. Pepper- I think it's his therapy. He is a great daddy to the kids and they love it when he gets home or when they get to go to his work. You should see the way Brayden lights up when his daddy walks in the room. They are buddies. Mike and I are both in a brass quintet with 3 of our friends. It is a way for us to use our skills doing something we love while at the same time having a social and mental outlet. Mike is loving playing again.

Ok, there we are. We are planning on spending half of spring break fixing up our yard and the other half in SLC with my family. Mandi, Ryan, and Alex are being sealed to Darek and Ian, then Darek will be blessed on Sunday. It'll be really neat. So, if you got through this, you deserve a Kitkat. Go buy yourself one :)